Transistor cup and wire lead assembly



April 2, 1963 w. F. WINGARD TRANSISTOR cup AND WIRE LEAD ASSEMBLY FiledApril 18, 1960 Imam-uh)? wzzziam F Win awz, M any.

United States Patent 3,084,209 Patented Apr. 2, 1963 ice 3,084,202TRANSHSTOR (CUE? AND WIRE LEAD ASSEMBLY Wiiiiam F. Wingard, Newtcnville,Mass designer to United=arr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass, acorporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 22,971 1 Claim.(Cl. 174-52) The present invention relates to an improved container fora transistor or like device and the method of staking a lead wire to thecontainer.

In the past, lead wires were staked to transistor cups either bysoldering or by forming a raised circumferential ridge a predetermineddistance from the terminal end of the lead wire. The said ridge isformed with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the apertureformed in the said transistor cup. The lead wire is then passed betweenthe walls of the said aperture until the ridge abuts the portion of saidcup adjacent the said walls. The terminal end is then headed sandwichingthe area adjacent said wall between the said ridge and the said headedportion of the lead. This method would be satisfactory if a firmengagement could be made between the cup and the lead. Unfortunately, inmost cases, the wall of the aperture is badly distorted on engagementand a poor engagement is made, particularly if heat is applied, allowingthe lead wire to move freely.

An object of the invention is to provide a thin walled cup and anattached lead wherein the lead is immovably engaged to said cup by a newmethod of engaging the lead wire with the wall of an aperture formed inthe cup or container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cup with an attachedlead wire by a method wherein a portion of the wall of an apertureformed in said cup is raised to afford a good bearing surface and alocal take-up of the deformation of securing the lead wire with thewall.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, inpart, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged top plan view of a transistor or like cup;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a cup and wire lead assembled;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the cup and wire lead assembly shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a cup 10 having a base 12 anda peripheral upstanding wall 14. The said wall 14 is in integral,substantially right angle relationship with said base 12. The cup 10illustrated is in the geometric form of an octagon, however, anyrequired geometric form may be successfully employed.

An aperture 16 is formed in the required position in the base 12. Theedge 18 of the aperture 16 has a U-shaped slot 20 having a peripheraledge 22 formed therein. The opposite side of the edge 18 from the slot20 may also be formed into U-shaped slot and its edge bent in adirection opposite to that of the pheripheral edge 22. Any convenientgeometric design may be utilized in forming the U- shaped slot 20*. Aportion of said peripheral edge 22 and the edge 18 is bent away fromsaid base 12 to form a helix 24 which is faired gradually into theremaining portion of the edge 18 and the peripheral edge 22 as bestshown in FIG. 1.

In a preferred form of the invention, the cup 10 is formed on a machinecapable of preforming, drawing, piercing and forming operations such asan eyelet machine. An end portion of a lead wire 26 is passed throughthe aperture 16 between the helix 24 and the edge 18 a predetermineddistance above the plane of the base 12 and into the cup 10*. A headingoperation is then performed, using a suitable device which heads theportion of the lead wire 26 above the plane of the base 12 into a headportion 28 while the lead wire 26 is tightly held a short distance belowthe said base 12 to form a circumferential shoulder 30 as shown in FIG.5. During the heading operation mentioned heretofore, the helix 24 isforced toward the circumferential shoulder 30, and since the cup 12 isformed of soft metal, such as brass, is in effect, forced into the leadwire 26 while the edge 18 opposite the said helix 24 is forced aslightly greater distance than the said helix 24 below the plane of saidbase 12 as it also is pressed into the lead wire 26 as shown in FIG. 5.The result is a very strong interlocking odd shaped non-circular unionbetween the lead wire 26 and the wall of the cup 10 as shown in FIG. 6.Of course, the aperture area defined by the peripheral edge 22, as wellas the aperture 16, will be filled by an extruded portion of the leadwire 26. Once this attachment is made, the lead wire 26 can be bent toconform to requirements of circuitry without seriously disturbing thecontact between the cup 10 and the lead wire 26 as has occurred inprevious constructions. In fact, any displacement of one portion of theedge 18 in relation to the plane of the remaining portion of the edge 18in either a direction above or below the plane of the base 12 willresult in a successful application of the invention. We could thereforehave the helix 24 formed below the plane of the base 12 and We couldalso have the remaining portion of the edge 18 displaced in the samedirection as long as the displacement was less than the displacement ofthe helix 24. This would, of course, also be true if the displacementoccurred above the plane of the base 12.

While the above described construction is simple and relativelyinexpensive, it has proved to be a very successful construction and itshould be understood that the invention relating thereto is best definedby the following claim.

I claim:

The combination of a transistor or like cup and a lead wire, said cupcomprising a base and a wall, said base having an aperture formedtherein, said aperture surrounded by a wall having a preformed helicalportion above the plane of the remaining portion of said base, said leadwire having a terminal end extending through said aperture and above theplane of said base, said lead wire upset into positive assembledengagement with opposite faces of said cup base adjacent said apertureand said preformed helical portion being upset to lie on substantiallythe same plane as the remaining portion of said base and interlockedwith the lead wire between the riveted portions of the wire whereby saidcup and lead wire are prevented from relative rotation and to providepositive electrical connection between said lead Wire and said base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,170,472 Fitch Aug. 22, 1939 2,670,021 Torresen et a1. Feb. 23, 1954FOREIGN PATENTS 459,979 Great Britain Ian. 19, 1937 547,905 Italy Sept.17, 1956

